Chapter Twenty-Three: Damage Control

After the downward spiral that was the start of her seventh year, Cordelia had really thought things would change in time for the winter break.

In a way, her hopes technically had become a reality. However, it wasn't the kind of reality she had wished for.

Myrtle Warren was dead, and Hogwarts was her murder ground.

The mere thought of their precious sanctuary of a castle being threatened with the pretence of murder had shocked everyone to the core, especially the pureblood parents. After all, they weren't keen on having the heirs to their community housed in a building that could cause their demise.

Cordelia presumed the opening of the Chamber of Secrets was a blessing in a way.

The chamber ensured that the pureblood community would simmer down by the end of the day, too focused on the idea of an heir to Salzar Slytherin to bother pulling their children out of Hogwarts. Parents would switch from worry to curiosity as they asked for their children's opinions about the heir and who it could possibly be.

The real problem was their presumptions, and how every finger was pointed Cordelia's way.

An annoyed sigh left her lips as Cordelia watched the crowd of students part like the red sea around her and the other seventh year Slytherins.

Hogwarts had always been a breeding ground for rumours that were quick to travel and even quicker to be reasoned with. Unfortunately, with the entirety of the school betting on the Slytherin Queen being the heir to Salazar's throne, it was almost impossible to reveal the true heir.

Especially not when the entirety of Slytherin already knew who the real heir was but chose to keep quiet about it.

After all, who would want their house's golden boy to be suspected of murder?

"You have to tell them."

Cordelia couldn't help but dismissively shake her head at Orion's words, noticing how the students around her strained their ears as much as possible to try and catch even a single word.

"I can't. You know I can't."

It was true. As much as Cordelia and Orion chose not to believe it, they couldn't do anything about Tom's latest scheme. Not unless they wanted the entire school to go from fearing them to turning against them.

In a way, it was Cordelia's fault for not being smart enough to stay at the heads dorms with Tom when the commotion arose that morning. She should have known better, really, she should have. But with the Dark Lord's calm demeanour as he flipped to the next page of the newspaper Cordelia couldn't help but panic and rush to know what was going on, having feared the worst.

The death of an annoying mudblood certainly didn't fall anywhere near the things she had conquered up in the time it took to rush to the second floor, however, the message behind her body was.

"The chamber has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware."

The chamber of secrets was a myth. One that had stemmed after Salazar's departure from Hogwarts but had never been found or dismissed.

Up until that day.

Suddenly, stealing a book about how to control and find beasts seemed to make so much more sense. It was fitting that Tom's final year graced Hogwarts with the awakening of Salzar's beast, after six years of being the perfect wizard no one could ever suspect him without facing repercussions from others.

Cordelia, however, was another story.

Cordelia was the dark side to his moon, the perfect Slytherin who was also the perfect pureblood, making her a danger to most and an idol to those who wished to be like her.

The tall brunette witch had always had an affinity for trouble. Whether it be prank with Ignatius up until their fifth year or academic wars and social disputes that turned into duels in dark corridors, Hogwarts' head girl had made a reputation for herself over the years.

One that was perfect for a murdering Slytherin heir.

Perhaps that was why no one had to say anything to automatically presume it was her. No words were spoken, no glares were made, but even so, it was clear that Hogwarts had established who they believed to be the murderer. And unlike the professors, the students weren't keen on keeping quiet until evidence was given to them.

After the truth about her father had been revealed Cordelia had really thought nothing could ruin her reputation more. Unfortunately, Tom Riddle was keen on proving her wrong.

In a way, it made perfect sense.

The rumour about her father ensured that even if the Blacks weren't directly related to Salazar, people could still presume it was Cordelia, and this time, even with the entirety of Slytherin by her side, she couldn't possibly evade the speculations.

Thankfully, Dumbledore was one of the few professors who saw logic before rumours and was quick to calm Dippet down before he could make any irrational decisions. The rest of the faculty was quick to follow in his steps, ensuring that the student gossip remained as just that until there was solid evidence.

Which led Cordelia to her next problem: Myrtle.

As if being a snivelling mudbloodh her entire life wasn't enough, Myrtle Warren had been the cowardly kind of witch who turned into a ghost not long after her death.

The mere idea of having Moaning Myrtle haunt Hogwarts for the rest of eternity thankfully kept witches away from the second-floor lavatory, and with her affinity to burst into tears at the slightest of things, the professors weren't having much luck with Myrtle either and had instead turned towards damage control.

Which, of course, left Cordelia to once again do Tom's dirty work or risk taking the fall for him.

"Myrtle?"

Loud wails were the only response Cordelia got, but they were enough to have her travel further into the bathroom riddled with water.

An annoyed sigh slipped from her lips as Cordelia began to clean up the mess, casting draining charms, cleaning the mirrors and repairing the damage Myrtle had done to the floor and walls. It was only when she had returned the lavatory to how it used to be that the wailing ghost finally made an appearance, however, she somehow seemed angry rather than grateful.

"You! You knew didn't you?"

Cordelia wasn't one to fear ghosts, but as she watched the short girl fly towards her she couldn't help but take a step back that had her pressed up against the sinks.

"Knew what?"

"Don't think me stupid! I'm a Ravenclaw! I know you were working with Tom."

That was it, the smoking gun Cordelia had to get rid of before anyone else got to the moaning witch with a mouth bigger than that of the Giant Squid.

"I don't what you're talking about Myrtle. However-"

Cordelia abutted from the sinks, taking a small step forward with her hands raised in a position that ensured she meant no harm.

"-Tom's wronged both of us. And I would like to ensure that doesn't happen again."

She wished it was that simple. That she could just have Myrtle testify against him and have Tom Riddle in Azkaban faster than Slughorn could say the word innocent. However, somehow the malicious brunet had once again been one step ahead of Cordelia and had a perfect alibi for the previous night.

He was with his knights in the common room. Of course, he was.

Slytherins weren't rats and stood by one another even in the worst moments. Loyalty was one of their house's most prominent traits, one that couldn't be broken without severe repercussions. And with the entirety of Hogwarts already turned against her Cordelia wasn't exactly keen on having her snakes leave too.

Thus, as much as it pained her, the Slytherin Queen couldn't help but yield to the Dark Lord and stand by him.

"-and then I opened the door to make the boy go away but you never would have guessed what I saw!"

"What?"

If Myrtle heard the annoyance in Cordelia's voice she chose to dismiss it completely, groaning on and on about the story of her death which was just as tedious as her life.

"Tom Riddle! Right before I looked into the Basilisk's eyes I saw Tom in the flesh standing beside it!"

That was it, the confession Cordelia was looking for, one that she would have to erase if Tom Riddle had any hopes of getting away with what he had done.

Cursing a ghost was certainly hard, but it wasn't impossible. Especially not for a witch who had practised it before when getting rid of Peeves the Poltergiest. The problem, however, was getting it right the first time so that Myrtle couldn't possibly run away and find sanctuary.

"Myrtle, could you show me where you saw the beast?"

Cordelia thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be the smart ones, but as she watched the younger witch walk towards the other side of the sinks and ramble on about how the yellow eyes had been there, she couldn't help but question the Sorting Hat's decision with Myrtle.

"Obliviate."

Sifting through her memories was certainly a scary feat, after all, Cordelia wouldn't want to accidentally encounter the eyes of a Basilisk. Thus she focused on Tom and Tom alone, altering Myrtle's memory until his presence was nothing more than an unknown boy in the girls' lavatory.

Then, she moved forward, changing the ghost's memories to ensure their encounter wouldn't be recalled. It was only when the thoughts of Hogwarts' best were erased that Cordelia finally walked towards the door of the lavatory, only letting up the spell once she had one foot out the door.

As she recast her disillusionment charms and quickly made her way through the second floor Cordelia couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt at taking the witch's justice from her, however, the feeling was quickly replaced with annoyance and anger the closer she got to the heads dorms.

"Riddle!"

Cordelia didn't bother lowering her voice or concealing her emotions as she knocked against Tom's door, only stopping once the wizard in question let out an annoyed groan from the other side.

It took him a moment to open the door, but when he did Cordelia couldn't help but gasp and take a step back hesitantly.

He looked terrible.

Tom Riddle was always the boy who was perfectly kept together. The one whose uniform was as pristine and sharp as his mind and who never had a bad hair day his entire life. However, as she dragged her blue gaze over his completely unbuttoned school shirt and unruly hair Cordelia couldn't help but feel a sense of surprise take over.

Surprise and another emotion she was quick to kill the second his annoyed glare met hers.

"What?"

Any sense of concern she had was quickly replaced with her previous annoyance as Cordelia realised he had been asleep. Tom Riddle, the source of all of her problems, had been slumbering away while she worked hard to ensure the loopholes in his murder scheme were taken care of.

But the worst part was that she hadn't been good enough, for even if Cordelia cleared his name she couldn't possibly change the new reputation Hogwarts had.

"I hope you're happy Riddle, Hogwarts will be closed now."

An annoyed groan left Tom at her words, a sound that was as uncharacteristic as his appearance and rendered Cordelia speechless long enough for him to speak his mind.

"Do you really think I would be stupid enough to not have a solution for this?"

Surprise and anger certainly were a peculiar combination, perhaps that was why Cordelia felt the fight in her dying down the longer their conversation lasted. However, even as she felt a sense of intrigue take over at being presented with an unfiltered, unguarded version of Tom, she couldn't help but continue to press him for answers.

"I will not let you-"

"Oh, here."

Tom didn't even bother to hear her out, walking back into his room to fetch something before Cordelia could so much as begin her annoyed rant.

Her words, however, died down the second Cordelia got a full view of his room.

The previously pristine chamber was now a complete mess with papers, broken furniture, books and clothes strewn left and right to create a canvas of chaos that was unlike Tom. He was calm, collected and charismatic not the angry young man who broke any and everything when faced with a minor inconvenience.

The sight had Cordelia worrying for Nagini, however, she was happy to spot the snake curled up in the middle of Tom's bed with her tongue slithering out to great the witch.

Her relief, however, was quickly replaced the second Tom returned, this time with an object that increased her anger tenfold.

"I found your diary."

Cordelia couldn't help but snatch the book from his grasp the second her eyes landed on it, however, in some cruel trick of fate, the entirety of her sacred book was blank.

"You-"

She had meant to give him a piece of her mind. Cordelia was going to scream at and possibly curse the boy before her until he understood just what he had done to her, what he had taken away from her and the information she had lost. But then she looked at him, really looked at him, and this time it was Cordelia who cut herself off.

His eyes were red.

The two of them had had enough stare offs over the years for Cordelia to have memorised the murky and almost chocolaty shade of his eyes, but this time they were different. Tom Riddle's brown orbs had turned into a pool of red that had her hesitantly taking a step forward and reaching for his face before Cordelia could realise what she was doing.

Thankfully, Tom seemed to still have control of his body and was quick to catch her wrist just as Cordelia's middle finger brushed against his cheek.

"Tom- what-"

It was the first time she had said his name since their supposed friendship, perhaps that was why Cordelia felt his grip on her wrist loosen enough for her to completely cup his cheek, an action that had her swallowing nervously as she whispered the next words.

"What did you do, Tom?"

And just like that their delicate moment was shattered with Tom's anger, one that had him stepping back into his room and slamming the door shut fast enough for Cordelia to be too occupied with ensuring her hand wasn't caught between the door to even think of stopping it.

But even as the dark brown door replaced the boy who would be her damnation, Cordelia couldn't help but remain in the hallway, feeling herself sink to the ground in shock as she recalled something she should have paid more attention to before it was too late.

Horcrux.

Tom Riddle had created his first Horcrux.

The mere thought of him splitting his soul in two and placing part of it into an object of his choice formed a lump in her throat as Cordelia felt a sense of worry take over.

Cordelia didn't care for him. She didn't.

It didn't matter that as she recalled his red eyes a tear began to pool in her own, neither did the sharp pang in her chest as she thought back on every time they had talked about his future and how she should have seen this coming, should have stopped it before it was too late.

It didn't matter that the mere thought of losing Tom Riddle to himself had her gulping down any remarks she could have possibly thrown his way with thoughts of replacing them with kinder words. That she felt her heart race uncomfortably and her hands move until she was cradling her diary against her chest just a little too tightly as Cordelia realised this was the beginning.

That Tom's future was now their present.

But then her mind cleared a little, being replaced with a determination that had her back on her feet and racing down his side of the staircase and up her own before Cordelia could rethink her decision.

It was only when she entered her own room and set the diary down on her bed that Cordelia allowed herself to once again collapse, but this time, her worries were replaced with plans and schemes that would stop the wheel Tom had begun to turn.

Cordelia Black didn't care about Tom Riddle, she didn't. But she did care of the people around him and the destruction he would cause, one that she had to stop.

Cordelia had to save the wizarding world from Tom's clutches, and just like him, she would do anything in her power to achieve her goal.